City Moves for 12 february – Who’s switching jobs at Matches Fashion, Bishop & Sewell and Bloomberg? February 12, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Matches Fashion, Bishop & Sewell and Bloomberg Matches Fashion Matches Fashion has announced that Ajay Kavan will be appointed as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective 19 March. Ajay joins Matches from Amazon where he was a vice president for nine years and currently serves as vice president of international [...]
Coronavirus has exposed the flaws of our globalised system February 12, 2020 We cannot yet be sure how many lives have already been tragically lost to the coronavirus outbreak, nor how many are still to be lost until the epidemic is brought under control — if that proves even possible. At the time of writing, the estimated death toll is over 1,000. What we do know is [...]
ESG investing: The only way is ethics February 12, 2020 “Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects,” wrote Larry Fink, chief executive of Blackrock, in his annual letter to global company bosses last month. “I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.” It was a big moment. Sustainability has been a growing economic issue for more [...]
Let the Iowa fiasco serve as a warning — new technology isn’t always the answer February 12, 2020 Last week, the entire world witnessed the shambles of the vote counting in the Iowa Democratic caucus. It should have been straightforward — but adding all the votes up in a consistent way took a whole week. The list of errors is as long as your arm. In some precincts, for example, the total number [...]
Have the economic benefits of post-Brexit free ports been overhyped? February 12, 2020 Have the economic benefits of post-Brexit free ports been overhyped? Adrienne Buller, senior research fellow at think tank Common Wealth, says YES. Free ports are a white elephant — a symbolic gesture from the government in lieu of meaningful investment in “levelling up” regions outside London. There is little evidence to support the idea that [...]
Western governments should have been ready for Huawei February 12, 2020 In the late 1990s, I represented Lucent Technologies, a firm focused on delivering telecommunications equipment which had been spun out of AT&T. At the time, in addition to the more familiar competitors such as Nortel Networks and Alcatel, we faced an additional threat — a relatively new Chinese competitor called Huawei. Huawei was able to [...]
If artificial intelligence is going to revolutionise the NHS, people need to be educated on its uses February 12, 2020 As Boris Johnson tries to reposition the Tories as the party of the NHS, with a £34bn-a-year long-term funding bill, the health service’s future will be in the minds of many. Its workforce is under relentless strain as it seeks to deliver world-class healthcare to the population, and many staff are overwhelmed. As the debate [...]
MWC 2020: BT and Nokia join exodus of companies over coronavirus fears February 12, 2020 BT is pulling out of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) because of the coronavirus outbreak, becoming the latest in a string of telecoms firms to say they will not attend the event in Barcelona later this month. Earlier today, Nokia and and Deutsche Telekom both said they would not be attending MWC, increasing the likelihood [...]
‘Turf war’ threatens Treasury as No 10 prepares for reshuffle February 12, 2020 Last minute preparations for a government reshuffle were ongoing last night ahead of an expected announcement tomorrow, with speculation that the Treasury’s ministerial team could be set for a shake-up. Rishi Sunak, second-in-command, is widely tipped for a promotion to a Cabinet post elsewhere in government after impressing No. 10. Sources have, however, suggested that [...]
Airbnb set to swing to a loss ahead of 2020 market debut February 11, 2020 Holiday letting platform Airbnb reportedly swung to a loss last year, raising concerns ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO) later this year. The tech giant reported a $322m (£248.65m) net loss in the nine months to September as costs spiked, down from $200m profit the previous year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Airbnb [...]